Tallinn
No longer the plaything of greater powers – Danish, Swedish, Polish, German and Soviet – Tallinn is now a proud European capital with an allure all of its own. It's lively yet peaceful, absurdly photogenic and bursting with wonderful sights – ancient churches, medieval streetscapes and noble merchants' houses. Throw in delightful food and vibrant modern culture and it's no wonder Tallinn seems in danger of being loved to death, especially after a few cruise ships dock. But it's one of those blessed places that seems to cope with all the attention.
Despite the boom of 21st-century development, Tallinn safeguards the fairy-tale charms of its Unesco-listed Old Town – one of Europe’s most complete walled cities. Some examples of exuberant post-Soviet development aside, the city clearly realises it's better to be classy than brassy. Hence the blossoming of first-rate restaurants, atmospheric hotels and a well-oiled tourist machine that makes visiting a breeze.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tallinn.
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Niguliste Museum
Dating from the 13th century, the imposing St Nicholas' Church (Niguliste kirik) was badly damaged by Soviet bombers in 1944 and a fire in the 1980s, but today stands restored to its Gothic glory. Although deconsecrated, it's a strikingly apt site for the Art Museum of Estonia to display some of its treasures of sacral art – the late-medieval altarpieces, paintings and sculptures you'll see are drawn from all over Estonia, but much of it originally belonged right here, in St Nicholas'. The most famous work on display is Berndt Notke’s 15th-century masterpiece Dance Macabre. The gist of this eerie skeletal conga line is that whether you’re a king, a pope or a young slacker, we’re all dancing with death. Annoyingly, the plastic screen that protects the painting has a surface sheen which makes the work difficult to see from some angles. Other artefacts include painted altarpieces (including the church's own extraordinary cabinet-style altarpiece by Herman Rode from Lübeck, dating from 1481), carved tombstones and a chamber overflowing with ecclesiastical silverware. The acoustics of the former church are also first-rate, and organ recitals are held here most weekends. If you're going to visit the nearby Adamson-Eric Museum, a joint ticket can be bought at either venue for €8.
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Kumu
This futuristic, Finnish-designed, seven-storey building is a spectacular structure of limestone, glass and copper that integrates intelligently into the 18th-century landscape. Kumu (the name is short for kunstimuuseum, or art museum) contains the country's largest repository of Estonian art as well as 11 or 12 temporary exhibits per year. The permanent exhibition covers 18th-century classics of Estonian art to venerable, intricately painted altarpieces and the work of contemporary Estonian artists such as Adamson-Eric. On the third floor you'll find ‘Treasury’, featuring works from the beginning of the 18th century until the end of WWII; while on the fourth is ‘Difficult Choices’, showcasing art from the Soviet era. Current and cutting-edge exhibitions fill the 5th floor, which can be visited separately (€8/6) if you don't want to pay the full admission price for all galleries. The complex is wheelchair-accessible and has an excellent shop and cafe.
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Tallinn Town Hall
Completed in 1404, this is the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe. Inside, you can visit the Trade Hall (whose visitor book drips with royal signatures), the Council Chamber (featuring Estonia’s oldest woodcarvings, dating from 1374), the vaulted Citizens’ Hall, a yellow-and-black-tiled councillor’s office and a small kitchen. The steeply sloped attic has displays on the building and its restoration. Details such as brightly painted columns and intricately carved wooden friezes give some sense of the original splendour. Occasionally the building is used to host prominent visiting art exhibitions, in which case the entry fee may be considerably higher. If the kids are getting restive, draw their attention to the iron shackles still hanging on the exterior wall facing the square, or pay a little extra to climb the tower (between May and mid-September).
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Great Guild Hall
The Great Guild Hall (1410) is a wonderfully complete testament to the power of Tallinn's medieval trade guilds. Now a branch of the Estonian History Museum, its showpiece exhibition is 'Spirit of Survival: 11,000 Years of Estonian History', illustrating the history and psyche of Estonia through interactive and unusual displays. There's also the old excise chamber, with numismatic relics stretching back to Viking times; the basement, exploring the history of the Guild itself; and sections on Estonian music, language and geography. The major exhibition poses such questions as ‘Is Estonia the most secular country in the world?’ and ‘Have Estonians been happy in their own land?’ (The answer to the latter is 'no', apparently – statistics suggest they’re one of the least happy peoples in Europe.)
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Kadriorg Art Museum
Kadriorg Palace, a baroque beauty built by Peter the Great between 1718 and 1736, houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia devoted to Dutch, German and Italian paintings from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and Russian works from the 18th to early 20th centuries (check out the decorative porcelain with communist imagery upstairs). The pink palace is exactly as frilly and fabulous as it ought to be, and there’s a handsome French-style formal garden at the rear. Take tram 1 or 3 from the centre to the 'Kardiorg' stop to reach the park, then follow the signs. Joint tickets with the Mikkel Museum (adult/reduced €8/6) and House of Peter I are available (€9/6.50) as are tickets that cover all five branches of the Art Museum across the city (€20).
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Seaplane Harbour
When this cavernous, triple-domed building was completed in 1917, its reinforced-concrete shell-frame construction was unique in the world. Resembling a classic Bond-villain lair, the vast space was completely restored and opened to the public in 2012 as a museum celebrating Estonia's rich seafaring heritage. Highlights include exploring the cramped corridors of a 1930s naval submarine, an elegant collection of ice-yachts, hanging from the ceiling as though in flight, and the many interactive exhibits to try your hand at. Don't overlook the antique ships moored outside, including the handsomely-maintained Suur Tõll, the world's largest surviving steam-powered ice-breaker, which you can explore from stem to stern.
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Telliskivi Creative City
Once literally on the wrong side of the tracks, this set of abandoned factory buildings is now Tallinn's most alternative shopping and entertainment precinct, with cafes, a bike shop, bars selling craft beer, graffiti walls, artist studios, food trucks and pop-up concept stores. But it's not only hipsters who flock to Telliskivi to peruse the fashion and design stores, drink espressos and riffle through the stalls at the weekly flea market – you're just as likely to see families rummaging and sipping.
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Kadriorg Park
About 2km east of Old Town, this beautiful park’s ample acreage is Tallinn’s favourite patch of green. Together with the baroque Kadriorg Palace, its 70 hectares were commissioned by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great for his wife Catherine I soon after his conquest of Estonia (Kadriorg means 'Catherine’s Valley' in Estonian). Nowadays the oak, lilac and horse-chestnut trees give shade to strollers and picnickers, the formal pond and gardens provide a genteel backdrop for romantic promenades and wedding photos, and the children’s playground is a favourite free-for-all for the city’s youngsters. Stop by the park's information centre, housed in a pretty 18th-century cottage near the main entrance, to see a scale model of the palace and its grounds. From central Tallinn, tram 3 stops right by Kadriorg Park. Buses 1A and 34A (among others) stop at the J Poska stop on Narva mnt, near the foot of the park, while buses 67 and 68 head to the Kumu end.
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Town Hall Square
In Tallinn all roads lead to Raekoja plats, the city's pulsing heart since markets began setting up here in the 11th century. One side is dominated by the Gothic town hall, while the rest is ringed by pretty pastel-coloured buildings dating from the 15th to 17th centuries. Whether bathed in sunlight or sprinkled with snow, it's always a photogenic spot. All through summer, outdoor cafes implore you to sit and people-watch. Many places sling pizzas, or you can still find decent (if overpriced) Estonian food. Come Christmas, a huge pine tree stands in the middle of the square just as it did in 1441 when local guild the Brotherhood of the Blackheads erected the world’s first publicly displayed Christmas tree (a claim hotly contested by Rīga).
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